9 Trainer Accessories to Boost Your Inside Ride Year-Round

Summer might be here, but that doesn’t mean you’re done with the trainer. Riding inside can offer a better tailored workout; make it possible to ride when it’s pitch-black out; give you a chance to exercise while watching kids or animals; and much more. So you might as well make your inside rides count by creating a trainer nook that’s just right.

When it comes to riding the trainer, a perfect setup is key to alleviating boredom, maximizing comfort, and making your ride go according to plan. Five pro cyclists—one of whom won her contract while pedaling on Zwift Island—share the most unlikely trainer accessories that they can’t live without.

Bottle Stand

CobraCo

This product is incredibly helpful if you don’t have bottle cages on your bike, or you aren’t near a table.

“At the Fiuggi World Cup, I didn't have trainer and got permission to use one of Telenet Fidea's rollers,” says pro cyclocross racer Elle Anderson. "Next to the rollers, I spotted this plain black metal stand about one meter high, kind of like a short mic stand. Bolted to it was a water bottle cage exactly waist height, so it was perfectly reachable while trying to balance precariously on the rollers.” She also used the study metal stand as a prop to get going on, pause, and get off the rollers.

Make one for yourself by attaching a bottle holder to this plant stand—or just put your bottle on its surface.

Kindle Mount (and Kindle)

Sqweezel

Aspire Racing’s Ellen Noble scored second in the U23 Women’s World Championships this year, and her favorite trainer tool is one that every bookworm will relate to: a Kindle and a Kindle mount. (She’s currently crushing through the Harry Potter series now that it’s available on Kindle Unlimited.) "Reading on the trainer or the rollers is my favorite way to pass the time,” she explains. "I don't particularly like watching TV, it's not super stimulating, but I can read and it is so entertaining and makes the time fly by!” If you don’t have a Kindle-specific mount, she says it’s easy to fix your eReader to the handlebars by using a hefty rubber band and your computer mount.

Self-Massage Area

Amazon

While you might already use a yoga mat to keep your bike in place, another yoga mat setup nearby with a foam roller and/or lacrosse balls ready for some immediate post-ride stretching and self-massage is a great idea. Trainer rides can be hard on the body, and having a spot setup for a proper cooldown versus hopping off and immediately diving back into the day can be a huge help.

Kiddie Corner

MoMo Productions / Getty Images

If you have kids, having a play area for them near your setup with some toys or a TV setup so you can keep an eye on them while you train can make child-care a lot easier. If your kids are excited about riding, you can even have them ride with you with Fisher Price’s kiddie stationary bike setup!

Bluetooth-Enabled Headphones

UrbanEars

Living with a sound-sensitive roommate or having thin walls can put you in a bind if you want to listen to music or TV on the trainer. To the rescue is a Bluetooth-enabled sport headphone that not only pairs with a variety of electronics and provides excellent sound, but also has a detachable, washable headband and ear cups so you can avoid having funky, bacteria-laden gear around your ears.

Bluetooth-Enabled Speaker

Amazon

If you’re lucky enough to not need headphones, a speaker is perfect for dropping whatever beat you want without requiring your hands to leave the handlebars. When starting a set of intervals, it’s a pain if your playlist isn’t in sync with your workout routine. Having a Bluetooth speaker that’s intelligent, like Amazon’s Echo, can make it easy to pedal—just shout your song request and she’ll comply.

An Action-Packed Playlist

Bloomberg/ Getty Images

When you have a marathon trainer session, the worst thing that can happen is you end up scrolling through Netflix, desperately trying to find something (anything!) to watch. The curse of Netflix, of course, is that you can spend more time browsing than actually watching a show, so cyclocross racer Stephen Hyde’s best advice is to pre-program a playlist before you start pedaling.

“Watch short and action-packed episodes of a show to keep you busy enough not to get bored!” he says.

Surgical Towels

Sea To Summit

When Zwift partnered with Canyon/SRAM to find a new pro woman rider to sign, Leah Thorvilson started pedaling indoors a lot more often. She eventually won the contract, and one of her secret weapons was the basket of surgical towels (similar to camp towels) she kept within arm’s reach of her trainer setup.

"I sweat a lot and don't want to take my bike off the trainer every day to wash it,” she explained, “So I drape a surgical towel on each handlebar, another in the middle, and on really long or tough rides, I will tuck another in the back of my shorts and another into the straps on the back of my sports bra. It keeps me from dripping everywhere!”

Why surgical towels, specifically? She explains that they are designed to hold a lot of moisture, but are also ultra-lightweight. (Side note: they’re also great for outside rides for lens wiping, she hastens to add.)

An Electronic Power Unit for Your Trainer

Kinetic

Give your fluid- or wind-resistance trainer a boost with an electric power unit like Kinetic’s Smart Control Power Unit. The unit offers magnetic, controlled electronic resistance with improved sensitivity and less room for error when calculating power than non-electronic units; Bluetooth compatibility for more interesting ZWIFT sessions and interval-based fitness tests (electronic control means you can use ERG mode and ride ‘hills’ as they come up programs like ZWIFT); and a much heftier flywheel for tougher sessions. The Power Unit only works with Kinetic trainers for now.

Espresso Machine

Amazon

Okay, you probably don’t want an espresso machine directly next to the trainer, lest your cadence start picking up to 180 RPM after you reach over and pull your eighth shot, but Thorvilson swears by a couple espresso shots to get you going in the wee hours of the morning.

“When I was still working full time, I was getting up at 4a.m. to ride before work,” she says. "As soon as I was dressed to ride and had my contacts in, I would make two Nespresso pods, and carry it back to my Zwifting room to sip on as I got logged in!”

And, of course...

Taj Mihelich

Some pros just plain don’t like the trainer, under any condition. Recently retired pro Ted King put it succinctly when he listed his trainer accessories as: "Warm clothes. A light perhaps. Something waterproof is helpful.”
Then, he explained, “Go ride outside."

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